THE COPPER FEVER IN QUEENSLAND.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1279, 4 September 1872, Page 2

THE COPPER FEVER IN QUEENSLAND.

The copper f e v er (says -the Crijriip ie Times) continues to rage with unabated violence in local mining circles, and even gold, tho "king of metals," has to hide his diminished head. for a.short. time. Our lists of mineral selections are quite sufficient proof of. the activity of the contagion ; and the fact that " new findsj" and, "selections" of copper are the common and most frequent topics of conversation on the gold field need hardly be . stated to .persons ,who : have been resident here for even a few days only. This kind of thing is ? not calculated, in our opinion, to promote the progress of the gold-mining industry^ and it is not strange that there is not at present a great deal of activity in the market for gold shar<M.: But it i 3 a fine thing for the district, as it will be the means of rapidly developing the enormous natural wealth "6f~~thi3 portion of Wide Bay, so long and so unaccountably neglected. It is , also. . a remarkably fine, state , of affairs for the Treasury ; since •■ the 15th of July r the Local Land Agent has received no less a sum than L 1789 as deposits . ; on : mineral selections. We are very unwilling indeed to damp the enterprise of those interested, directly or indirectly, in this pursuit of mining property, but a timely word on the probability of overdoing the copper " movement " will do no harm at least. It 'seems to us that in this- hasty scramble for copper bearing, lands a large number of inexperienced parties are engaged, and that besides many ■ undoubted' prizes a serious proportion of blanks may turn up. j We are informed that selections have been taken up upon the strength of ?.' specimens" havfeg been obtained from the land, the said specimens containing only as much trace of copper as some of the stuff 'got in several Gympie -gokUmines — very little indeed. As regards the present effect upon gold-mining, there can be no doubt that industry has been unsettled by the rage for copper. , ;j